Jim Becker
11-22-2007, 8:40 AM
Two. A seemingly small number but a significant one for us on 22 November 2007, Thanksgiving Day in the US, because two years ago to the day, we appeared in court in Tyumen, Russia to complete the adoption of our beautiful daughters. We went from a family of two humans and two birds to, well...a family with two birds and two kids.
These two years have gone quickly but were packed full with a lot of “firsts”, a lot of wonderful things and, because we prefer to be up front and honest, a number of challenges, too. We had some great family vacations to Maine, Florida and Canada where the girls first experienced the ocean, Disney World and very long car rides. We had wonderful teachers in school who care so much and have helped our girls reach success in so many ways. We also committed to a major home addition that is soon to provide us with the space and amenities that a growing family needs to coexist comfortably with each other. (Yes, more bathrooms!)
Our girls are speaking and reading English so much better than even just six months ago. As mentioned in previous posts, Alesya is in our local elementary school and really doing well in 3rd grade with almost no special supports. Nastia is working hard and with additional support from the school, starting to get a handle on more and more of the material in 6th grade...a tough year in our school district for anyone. Both girls have grown a lot physically in the last year and are turning into some of the cutest young ladies in the land. What’s not to like about that? (At least until the boys start to come calling...)
It wouldn’t be fair to forget about the parents in this discussion. Having two children in any two-career family is always a challenge, but the unique and extra needs that two adopted school aged kids present adds to the “fun”. We are having an easier time around being able to do some of the things we both enjoy doing independently as there no longer is a need for constant supervision. But we still are not to the point that we can leave the kids on any regular basis for adults-only nights out, etc. We have done so a few times, however, and hopefully more opportunities to get out will present to us. My business travel really kicked up this year and that always adds to the stress when one parent has to deal with everything from dawn to bedtime, especially when there are things like therapy and doctor appointments as well as extra curricular activities.
But you know what? It’s been wonderful. No matter how trying things can get sometimes, when you look into the eyes of these kids or look at them when they are peacefully asleep, you can’t help but know that everything is absolutely worth whatever it’s taken so far and will take into the future. Contemplating what their future, or lack thereof, might have been had we not met them on the 2nd of July back in 2005 and brought them home for good on the 26th of November of the same year, is a scary thing. Unquestionably, they might have been better off if they had had a stable family life in their country of origin, but they didn’t have that. Had they stayed in the Internat until they aged out at between 16 and 18 years old, there would have been a high probability that their lives would have been at best marginal and at worse, lost entirely. For these girls, however, they now have possibilities they likely would not have had otherwise. And hopefully, they are learning how to break the cycle that they were mixed up in before we met them so they can start strong families of their own someday.
Two years. Wow. It seems like only yesterday that we were on the road from the Internat to the city of Tyumen with both girls along for the ride. Heck, it seems like only yesterday that we were ushered into a small office at Cradle of Hope in Silver Spring MD to meet these girls for the very first time. Remember that?
http://toscax.us/images/summerhosting/h-1.jpg
And just before we left Moscow to come home...
http://toscax.us/images/webdisplay/moscow-family.jpg
A year ago in Philadelphia at Independence Mall...
http://toscax.us/images/webdisplay/independence-mall.jpg
And today...well, you be the judge...
http://toscax.us/images/webdisplay/crazygirls-1.jpg
Ok, we were having a little fun. We really are a somewhat normal family “sometimes”!
Two is a big number, indeed! And we have a lot to be thankful for on this US Thanksgiving Holiday.
These two years have gone quickly but were packed full with a lot of “firsts”, a lot of wonderful things and, because we prefer to be up front and honest, a number of challenges, too. We had some great family vacations to Maine, Florida and Canada where the girls first experienced the ocean, Disney World and very long car rides. We had wonderful teachers in school who care so much and have helped our girls reach success in so many ways. We also committed to a major home addition that is soon to provide us with the space and amenities that a growing family needs to coexist comfortably with each other. (Yes, more bathrooms!)
Our girls are speaking and reading English so much better than even just six months ago. As mentioned in previous posts, Alesya is in our local elementary school and really doing well in 3rd grade with almost no special supports. Nastia is working hard and with additional support from the school, starting to get a handle on more and more of the material in 6th grade...a tough year in our school district for anyone. Both girls have grown a lot physically in the last year and are turning into some of the cutest young ladies in the land. What’s not to like about that? (At least until the boys start to come calling...)
It wouldn’t be fair to forget about the parents in this discussion. Having two children in any two-career family is always a challenge, but the unique and extra needs that two adopted school aged kids present adds to the “fun”. We are having an easier time around being able to do some of the things we both enjoy doing independently as there no longer is a need for constant supervision. But we still are not to the point that we can leave the kids on any regular basis for adults-only nights out, etc. We have done so a few times, however, and hopefully more opportunities to get out will present to us. My business travel really kicked up this year and that always adds to the stress when one parent has to deal with everything from dawn to bedtime, especially when there are things like therapy and doctor appointments as well as extra curricular activities.
But you know what? It’s been wonderful. No matter how trying things can get sometimes, when you look into the eyes of these kids or look at them when they are peacefully asleep, you can’t help but know that everything is absolutely worth whatever it’s taken so far and will take into the future. Contemplating what their future, or lack thereof, might have been had we not met them on the 2nd of July back in 2005 and brought them home for good on the 26th of November of the same year, is a scary thing. Unquestionably, they might have been better off if they had had a stable family life in their country of origin, but they didn’t have that. Had they stayed in the Internat until they aged out at between 16 and 18 years old, there would have been a high probability that their lives would have been at best marginal and at worse, lost entirely. For these girls, however, they now have possibilities they likely would not have had otherwise. And hopefully, they are learning how to break the cycle that they were mixed up in before we met them so they can start strong families of their own someday.
Two years. Wow. It seems like only yesterday that we were on the road from the Internat to the city of Tyumen with both girls along for the ride. Heck, it seems like only yesterday that we were ushered into a small office at Cradle of Hope in Silver Spring MD to meet these girls for the very first time. Remember that?
http://toscax.us/images/summerhosting/h-1.jpg
And just before we left Moscow to come home...
http://toscax.us/images/webdisplay/moscow-family.jpg
A year ago in Philadelphia at Independence Mall...
http://toscax.us/images/webdisplay/independence-mall.jpg
And today...well, you be the judge...
http://toscax.us/images/webdisplay/crazygirls-1.jpg
Ok, we were having a little fun. We really are a somewhat normal family “sometimes”!
Two is a big number, indeed! And we have a lot to be thankful for on this US Thanksgiving Holiday.